Homepages that sell:
Extract 1 - Extract 2 - Extract 3 - Extract 4 - Extract 5

Presentation of the study - Contents of the study

Homepages that sell - 100 pages PDF format - Download Report (from DigiBuy)

(Extract from Part 1: How users read homepages - The way we view pages and pictures - Factors that can alter the user's eye-path)

For example, the direction in which the person is looking will influence the way we look at a page; we will tend to follow that person's gaze, so if they are looking at a special offer, then we will find it quite natural to look at it too.

In this extract from Reflect.com, the user's eye is first of all attracted, by the young woman's face, to the right-hand side of the page; next it is drawn over to the left because that is the direction in which the woman's face is pointing.

This is a good example of the way that the user's attention can be shifted from one point to another. First of all, taking advantage of the fact that we read from left to right, the site places a human touch (the photo of the young woman) on the right-hand side of its homepage.

Next, the woman's face is pointing to the left, leading us to the tag line. Note that her face is leaning slightly forwards and pointing directly to the center of the tag line.

The letters of the tag line itself get larger, as they go down the page, and lead the user's eye inevitably to the pull-down menu, "create your…".